Burned
by rexlover180
Summary: There is a land of four kingdoms, forgotten by time and history. It holds magic and tradition at a high respect. Nothing has changed for hundreds of years. However, a single prince, cursed by a witch, might change a few things around. PruCan.
1. Prologue

**(A/N: Fair warning, before any of you start this, Gilbert does start off with blonde hair and blue eyes, but it's for a reason, so don't freak out on me yet.)**

In a time and land forgotten by history, there were four kingdoms. The Kingdom of Air was known for its peace and alliance with the Kingdom of Fire, which was famous for its metalwork and ability to hate the other kingdoms and not go to war. The Kingdom of Earth was known for its wars and ruthless leaders. The Kingdom of Water was not known for much; it often stayed on the sidelines, no allies or enemies.

What made the land of the four kingdoms so special was the magic it held. Each Kingdom held a Heart in the depths of their castle, which spread magic throughout the realm. As you could probably tell, each kingdom had an elemental magic. Normal citizens could barely wield the magic, though it sometimes helped with normal chores. The soldiers were the most skilled at using the magic, though it still was not very powerful. The royalty of the Kingdoms held the majority of the magic.

It is said that the first born child of the royalty will have the most potent magic and so they are chosen as the next King. It had been that way for generations, nothing interrupting it. However, everything must change.

After all, the Kingdom of Water would have to be famous for something.

* * *

Gilbert Beilschmidt, the soon-to-be 50th king of the Kingdom of Water, was the start of the change. He was very troublesome, always messing around with the maids or pulling pranks in the kitchen. He even messed around with his little brother before the poor boy had a chance to grasp his own magic. Gilbert would cover hallways in ice, dump boiling water on top of servants, and even steal things from his own father.

After all, he was the next king, so he should be able to do whatever he wanted. No one could tell him no, and if they did, his pranks would only get worse. The other Kingdoms worried of what would happen if the prince was allowed to take the thrown after coming of age. It was a rather good thing that would never happen.

It was Gilbert's thirteenth birthday and he stood proudly in front of the mirror, admiring his awesomeness. His awesome blonde hair was ragged, just the way he liked it, and his awesome blue eyes showed just how mischievous he was going to be that day. He really didn't like the un-awesome blue clothing he was forced to be dressed in; he figured he would look way cooler in the red of the Kingdom of Fire.

Gilbert stretched happily, admiring his muscles that he was already getting. Today, he would be able to finally hang out with his best friends, who he hadn't seen in, like, a week. Since they'd been kicked out for a prank Gilbert had planned. Francis Bonnefoy was the son of an ambassador from the Kingdom of Air and apparently also close friends with its king. Antonio Carriedo was the son of the Captain of the Guard for the Kingdom of Earth, the poor bastard.

Hardly able to wait, Gilbert left his room and, seeing a maid carrying quite a lot of plates, created ice under her feet at just the right angle. He cackled as he saw her fall, the plates shattering around her. She was so going to be fired.

"Brother," Gilbert's little brother, Ludwig, sighed from the other end of the hall. "Don't you think you should be a little more careful? She could have gotten hurt."

"Why the hell should I care?" Gilbert shrugged. "Besides, you shouldn't be talking back to me, in about 8 years, I'm gonna rule you."

Ludwig just shook his head and knelt down to help the woman stand back up. Gilbert just rolled his eyes and continued walking. Ludwig was two years younger than Gilbert, and yet he was already taller than him. It pissed him off to no extreme, to the point where Gilbert often shrunk Ludwig's clothes or froze over his bed, or made his bath boiling hot. He was blonde with blue eyes as well, something that evidently ran in the family. That also pissed Gilbert off. It was not awesome to be just like the rest. He wished he had a different hair and eye color.

Looking at the huge clock in the main foyer, Gilbert let out a massive groan, seeing how much time was really left before his friends came. It was then that an awesome idea popped into his mind. Running through the multiple stairs and using ice to help him glide along quicker, he soon appeared at the large oak doors to his parents' room. _His_ room in just a couple of years.

Without even looking around to ensure that no one was looking, he loudly opened the door and proudly made his entrance. He didn't even have to look around before he found what he was looking for. It was an ancient scroll, something only the king could look at. Gilbert smirked. He was going to be the king in just a few years, so he might as well get his head start.

The scroll was sitting on top of the table beside the bed, a perfect place for someone to steal it. Gilbert swiftly swiped the scroll into his hands and left the room, not bothering the close the doors. Gilbert laughed happily as he made his way down the hallway, opening the scroll as he walked.

"Brother," Ludwig stated and Gilbert groaned, nearly dropping the scroll to the ground and looked over at Ludwig. "You shouldn't have that."

"And why the hell not?" Gilbert snorted. "I'm going to be king, remember?"

"Not for another 8 years," Ludwig pressed. "You have to put that back."

"Make me," Gilbert smirked before encasing Ludwig's feet in ice and attaching them to the floor. Gilbert knew full well that Ludwig still didn't grasp his powers well enough to melt it without hurting his own feet. "Don't worry, I'll get you out eventually," Gilbert hummed as he walked past him.

Just as he was about to walk into his room, he heard the ring of the front bell, signifying a visitor.

"Awesome, they're early!" Gilbert smirked, dropping the forgotten scroll and racing down the stairs. He hit the servants about to open with water in the back of their heads. "Like hell you're opening the door for my friends." Gilbert rolled his eyes at those stupid servants before he happily pushed open the massive, oak doors. What greeted him, however, was not his friends, rather it was a woman. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm a traveler, brat," the woman scoffed, walking past him. Gilbert grit his teeth, the nerve of that bitch! She had long, brown hair and bright green eyes, something Gilbert would have been happy to have because it would make him different from his family. But why the hell was she such a bitch?

"Get the hell out of here, we didn't invite you in," Gilbert snapped.

"I am here to talk with the _king_," she turned around to the kid. "It would do you good to stay quiet, _prince_."

"Yeah, well I'm gonna be _king_ in just a few years," Gilbert snapped.

"Gilbert!" a loud, deep voice yelled from the top of the big staircase just in front of the main foyer. Gilbert's father, the king, stood there with an angry expression on his face, holding the scroll in one hand and comforting Ludwig with the other. "Did you steal this from my room?"

"Yeah, what does it matter?" Gilbert scoffed. "It's not like I'm not gonna see it in the future."

"And you froze your brother to the floor?" his father sighed.

"One sec, Dad, I was just telling this bitch to leave," Gilbert turned back to the woman, who looked at him with an expression that could kill.

"You have such ice in your heart, it's amazing you're still alive," the woman growled. "Maybe I should change that."

"Just try it, hag," Gilbert spat at the woman.

She simply took a deep breath before reaching a simple hand towards Gilbert. He stumbled back, but the woman pressed her index finger to his heart. Gilbert was about to laugh at how stupid she was before a horrible feeling suddenly washed over him. Gilbert stumbled back, his hands beginning to shake from a sudden cold that surrounded him.

"Gilbert!" his father yelled in worry as Gilbert's breath began to quicken.

He had never been this cold in his life. He couldn't even stand, so he stumbled onto the ground and tried to hug himself in an attempt to get warm. He could just barely see his hair as it began to turn white.

"Dad!" Gilbert called out in worry. His father was the king, he could do something against this. If it was cold, of course his dad could stop it, cold just meant that it was ice. The ground around him slowly turned into a thick sheet of ice as Gilbert began to panic more. "Dad!" Gilbert moved his freezing hands to his head, gripping at his freezing, white hair. His feet were freezing, too, to the point where he could barely feel them.

"Gilbert, you are going to be okay," his father stated, but Gilbert could hardly see him. Without his knowing, he'd started a blizzard around them. He was too panicked to stop it. "Just calm down!"

"Dad!" Gilbert screamed for his father. He had to make this stop, he couldn't control anything that was happening and he was too cold to try to think.

Eventually, Gilbert did see his father, who still looked calm as he held out a hand for Gilbert. Without a second thought, the child grabbed onto the hand. With just a single touch, the hand turned into solid ice and Gilbert screamed. He looked up at his father, who started to looked panicked himself as the ice quickly covered his arm. Then his chest. Then his legs. Then his head.

"No!" Gilbert screamed. The ice statue of his father began to tilt and Gilbert caught a quick reflection of himself. His hair and turned snow white and his eyes were red; the mark of a curse.

Gilbert's father fell and shattered onto the ground and Gilbert screamed again, scrambling to get away from it. He slipped on the ice beneath him. He tried to cry, but all that came out were painful chunks of ice. When he looked down at his hands, Gilbert saw that the tips of his fingers had turned blue.

"Dad!"

"This is your own fault," the woman from before stood in front of Gilbert and he screamed again, trying to scramble away from her, but the ice was too slick for him to be able to move. "You would have only gotten worse. You deserve this curse."

"G-g-give me m-my dad b-b-back!" Gilbert barely stuttered out. He was too cold to speak coherently or without stuttering.

"You can still use all of the magic that you have," the woman sighed. "But you'll only be able to use it in the form of ice. Every time you use it, the frostbite will go further towards your body. Once it reaches your heart, you will die."

"D-die?" Gilbert's voice cracked as the frozen tears came faster. He had no control over them, no matter how much they hurt.

"You brought this on yourself," the woman stated. "No matter how much you think you've learned your lesson, this curse will not break. It never will."

"W-w-what k-kind of m-m-magic d…do yo-you h-h-hold?" Gilbert asked.

"I'm a witch," the woman chuckled, "I don't play by your rules. I just have magic. I've seen into your future and you'll only get worse unless this curse prevents it. You've just had to learn the hard way."

And she disappeared. Gilbert was left alone, in his own blizzard, freezing and looking at the shattered pieces of his dad.

* * *

**This is what I get for watching Frozen. Twice. It's such an amazing movie, I'm totally gonna get it on DVD! Anyway, not the point, I came up with this idea while watching Frozen, but it's not the same plot, I promise. This is basically the prologue, for the rest of it, Gilbert will be an adult. And this will be PruCan with a few side pairings like Spamano and GerIta, the fluffy stuff. Also, if you were wondering, the witch was meant to be Hungary, mainly because I needed her to be a Hetalia character, but everyone else was taken. She'll come back, don't worry, and she's not all evil.**

**I will update all of this today, as a New Year's gift to all you lovely people! All of it is written and it's not very long. So, enjoy and review if you wish at the end.**

**And I do not own Hetalia. Or Frozen.**


	2. Chapter 1

"What do you think of this one?" Ludwig asked, walking into the kitchen where Gilbert simply raised an eyebrow as he stirred the hot drink in his hand. It had been 9 years since the…incident. It had been decided that Ludwig would become the king of the Kingdom of Water and Gilbert would just remain a prince, unless he happened to find a princess to fall in love with (which was impossible, considering the fact that all of the royals at that time were male).

"The same as the last two," Gilbert smirked, taking the cup of his drink in his gloved hand and chugging it. As usual, it didn't make him warm in the slightest. They were going to a party for the to-be-king of the Kingdom of Fire's coming of age party. Ludwig was nervous, as he was for nearly every party. Despite his nearly constant stoic demeanor, the kid got nervous constantly. It was pretty hilarious on Gilbert's part. "I don't know why you're so nervous, it's just the Kingdom of Fire."

"Our kingdoms haven't, exactly, gotten along in the past," Ludwig sighed. "We need to make a good impression."

"And how, exactly, did you convince Mom to let me tag along?" Gilbert asked curiously. Their mother hardly ever let him out of the castle. Just one look at him and everyone could tell that he was cursed and they always scattered to get far away from him. All of the royalty of the other kingdoms knew but Gilbert still wasn't allowed to see them. The first time he was even allowed to see his best friends was a year after what happened. Not like Gilbert even wanted to see anybody after he…

"This is my first ball outside of our kingdom," Ludwig stated. "I would expect my brother to go with me."

"So that means you're terrified," Gilbert smirked.

"Yes, are you happy?" Ludwig sighed, running a hand through his already perfect hair.

"I guess if you really want my awesomeness to be around, I'll consider it," Gilbert admired his hand happily. "Oi, I heard that the kid from the Kingdom of Earth you liked so much was gonna be there."

"I'm going to try on something else," Ludwig sighed and Gilbert smirked at the red that rose to his face. Ludwig suddenly slipped on the floor, Gilbert just remembering the fresh wax. Out of reflex, Gilbert thrust out his hand and a soft pile of snow appeared underneath Ludwig. Gilbert hissed slightly at the pain in his hand as the frostbite crept to the middle of his fingers. "You didn't have to do that," Ludwig sighed, standing up and wiping off his clothes.

"Sorry," Gilbert sighed. "Couldn't help myself."

"Just don't let Mother know," Ludwig stated, making the snow disappear with just a flick of his wrist.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Gilbert smirked, giving a small salute to his brother as he calmly walked away. As he left, Gilbert took of his right glove and examined his hand. He never used his magic purposefully, just small accidents, and the frostbite slowly crept to the point where it was halfway to his palms. Gilbert hadn't felt his fingers or toes in years. He sighed, looking at his booted feet. Who knew how far they were…

* * *

"You're such a freaking wuss!" Gilbert cackled, leaning back on his side of their carriage. "It's one kid! Don't tell me you're getting shy!"

"You don't understand," Ludwig said calmly, looking out the window.

"Hey, is it warm here?" Gilbert asked curiously. He always asked Ludwig about the temperature whenever they went to a new place, or on the first day of summer. All Gilbert ever felt was biting cold.

"Very," Ludwig smiled slightly, looking at his brother. "Perhaps you might find someone you like tonight, besides your friends."

"Doubt it," Gilbert snorted. "No one wants to touch the cursed Ice Prince, let alone talk to him."

"I guess we will find out tonight," Ludwig muttered, looking back out the window. Gilbert smirked.

"So, that Feli kid."

They talked aimlessly the entirety of the ride through the Kingdom of Fire, never talking about anything seriously until the carriage stopped in front of the steps of the castle. Gilbert couldn't see much of it due to where he sat, though Ludwig seemed fairly entranced.

"Come on, Luddie," Gilbert sighed. "You gotta get out to actually go to this party and see your dreamboat."

"Feliciano is not my dreamboat," Ludwig sighed, opening the door and gracefully stepping out. It was a talent that took quite a lot of coaching for both of the brothers. Grace and elegance didn't come naturally to them, despite being born into royalty, and every one of their movements had been rehearsed hundreds of times.

"Damn," Gilbert muttered as he stepped out of the carriage as well as stood beside his brother. The castle was massive, no bigger than the castle in the Kingdom of Water, though still magnificent. It was a bright red with yellow and orange accents. The sunset hit it just right to give it a glow that made it look like it was almost on fire. The men around it were all dressed in red, orange, and yellow as well. It was the color Gilbert always dreamed of seeing beyond the blue, white, and black of his own castle.

"Watch your language," Ludwig scolded and Gilbert absently nodded as they began to walk to the stairs. The colors were fantastic. There were quite a few people from the Kingdom of Air around them, dressed in multiple shades of white and a flurry of light colors. Those from the Kingdom of Earth were dressed in green, brown, and black.

All of them did a double take upon seeing Gilbert, but he easily ignored them, entirely used to it. He looked down at himself, clad in light blues, a few dark blues, and white. His boots and gloves were entirely white, almost like a warning. Ludwig, on the other hand, was clad in nearly entirely dark blues with a few lighter ones to accent it. His clothing was far more extravagant, stressing the fact that he would be king in less than a year. Gilbert held his head high as they walked into the doors, held open for them.

He couldn't hide his smile as he saw the main foyer in front of them. The barrage of colors was astounding, something Ludwig was no doubt used to seeing from the balls held at their own castle, the ones Gilbert couldn't attend. People with all kinds of hair and eye colors bustled around busily. Not the kind of busy that came from the servants during dinner. It was an excited chatter, people that Gilbert had never seen before gossiping, even a few kids were running around.

"This is amazing," Gilbert marveled, following his brother through the crowd. Even more people looked to him and Gilbert still ignored them.

"You get used to it after a while," Ludwig stated. Gilbert simply shook his head. Even the blues in this place were amazing. It was like a rainbow after the rain and Gilbert laughed, he was so happy. "Wait until you see the ballroom."

Gilbert numbly nodded as he continued following the more experienced of the two. He barely remembered to keep up the "majestic" movements that he had been taught. _Keep your back straight. Take long strides. Don't make unnecessary hand gestures._ _Talk as if you know everything._

They walked up to two massive oak doors with two men dressed in crimson guarding it. One of the men regarded the two, easily recognizing them and picked up a trumpet. The doors opened, revealing a massive room filled with glass and silver and gold and red. They were on top of a grand staircase that lead down to the right and left, made of red, orange, and yellow marble. Gilbert fought to not make his jaw drop. The colors dancing across the room looked almost like a dream and Gilbert let another laugh escape his lips. This was…awesome!

Fanfare sounded behind them and Gilbert forced himself to stay composed.

"Princes Ludwig and Gilbert Beilschmidt of the Kingdom of Water!" the man with the trumpet yelled and the party died down slightly. Gilbert held his head high as he and Ludwig walked down to the right. Gilbert was very aware of all of the people staring at him, and tried not to let it get to him. He remembered his lessons and tried to act as regal as possible.

"Gilbert!" Finally, a familiar face wormed his way through the crowd and Gilbert relaxed slightly. It was Francis. He was dressed in mostly white, save for the faint rainbow around the edges.

"Hey," Gilbert smiled, forcing himself to simply nod in greeting to keep up his royal mask.

"We didn't expect to see you here!" Francis said happily, him, too, keeping up a façade made just for this kind of occasion.

"Is Toni here, too?" Gilbert asked excitedly.

"Of course!" Francis chimed. His eyes turned to Ludwig and he bowed. "Your Majesty."

"You don't need to do that," Ludwig sighed, shaking his head. "We have known each other as long as you have known Gilbert."

"Yes, well, customs and all," Francis sighed and held onto Gilbert's gloved hand. "Now, come! Antonio would love to see you!"

"Well, Luddie?" Gilbert looked to his brother. "Do you think you can handle yourself in the big, bad world?"

"Just do not move too far from me," Ludwig sighed, turning his attention to a few nobles from the Kingdom of Air.

"Wouldn't dream of it, kid," Gilbert smirked and quickly walked off with his friend. Just a few steps away, he saw Antonio, clad in green and brown, as he looked like he was trying to flirt inconspicuously with another man from the Kingdom of Earth.

"Can't you take fucking no for an answer, bastard?" Apparently, it wasn't going well.

"Toni!" Gilbert called out happily and the man turned his attention to him happily.

"Gil!" Antonio laughed and ran up to him to give him a hug, evidently ignoring customs. Gilbert was thankful for it. It allowed him to relax a little. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming to this!"

"We could have arranged for an even more grand entrance!" Francis said happily, a small gust of wind rushing past them.

"I didn't know I was coming until a week ago," Gilbert shrugged. "This is freaking amazing! Do you guys come to these things often?"

"You would be amazed how many there are!" Antonio laughed.

"Oi, bastard, did you forget who you were talking to?" the boy Antonio was flirting with snapped.

"Oh! Right," Antonio slinked back to the boy.

"Who's he?" Gilbert asked Francis with a smirk.

"He is the brother if that boy, Feliciano, that your brother seemed to take a liking to," Francis explained. "I believe his name is Lovino."

"I had no idea Toni liked guys like him," Gilbert muttered, taking in the slew of cusswords coming out of the boy's mouth. "Wait, when the hell did Toni come out about being gay?"

"I believe that was about two parties ago," Francis said wistfully. "He saw that boy and forgot he was supposed to keep it a secret."

"Adorable," Gilbert muttered sarcastically and looked back at his brother who was, of course, awkwardly talking to a bunch of nobles.

"Your brother is rather helpless," Francis chuckled. "I can't imagine him as a king."

"I can see it," Gilbert sighed. "He's just too socially awkward."

"It should be you that is socially awkward," Francis laughed. "Considering how long it has taken you to leave your castle."

"It's a natural talent," Gilbert smirked.

Sudden fanfare interrupted their conversation, though most people kept idle chatter, evidently uncaring about who was being introduced.

"Prince Matthew of the Kingdom of Fire!" the man announced and hardly anyone looked over. Gilbert gave the poor kid his attention, but he froze at the sight.

He was…perfect. Breathtaking. Indescribable. His wheat blonde hair seemed to shimmer in the light and his tanned skin was perfect, without any flaw. The clothing that seemed to be almost sculpted around him looked like fire itself. Gilbert found himself unable to possibly try to look away.

"Well, now we all know who you've taken a liking to," Francis laughed beside him and Gilbert roughly jabbed his elbow into his side.

The boy, Matthew, was obviously very shy and looked down at the ground, making Gilbert unable to look him in his undoubtedly beautiful eyes. Matthew quickly started down the stairs and nearly missed a step, causing him to trip, barely able to catch himself on his ass. Gilbert winced as several people around them began to laugh. Matthew simply stood up and quickly rushed into the crowd, hiding himself.

Gilbert glared at the nearest nobles laughing at Matthew and turned their drinks to ice. He was immediately greeted by pain in his fingers as the frostbite crept further and gasped a little at the pain.

"You didn't have to do that, Gil," Antonio sighed, looking at Gilbert as he rubbed as his hands.

"It's fine," Gilbert sighed. "It was worth it." Gilbert glanced around, trying to find Matthew in the crowd, but it looked like it would be impossible. He would have to leave Ludwig, who was trying to calm down some pissed off nobles who were glaring at Gilbert.

The fanfare started again and Gilbert sighed, rubbing his hands together in a futile attempt to get them warm.

"Prince Alfred of the Kingdom of Fire!" the man announced and this time, the entire room fell silent. Gilbert rolled his eyes. So they gave Matthew's brother their full attention? They were obviously twins, too, though Gilbert had to admit that Matthew was far more attractive, and should be relatively equals.

Prince Alfred seemed to love the attention, though, a bright smile on his face as he waved regally to those in the room. He was dressed similarly to Matthew, though the gold accenting his outfit showed that he was the one meant to be king. Alfred gracefully made his way down the stairs as people began to talk again.

"Those two look very similar," Francis noted.

"Not in the slightest," Gilbert muttered.

"Prince Matthew, really?" Antonio laughed. "I didn't expect you to fall for him, of all people."

"You are known as the Ice Prince," Francis shrugged. "Fire and ice don't exactly go well together."

"Just shut up," Gilbert rolled his eyes and glanced at his brother once again. The nobles had calmed down and he seemed to be relaxing slightly. Maybe he could afford to go just a few feet away…

"Hey, you're Prince Gilbert, right?" a new voice asked and Gilbert turned his attention back to him. It was Prince Alfred. He smiled brightly and looked like he practically radiated heat. Not like Gilbert felt that heat…

"Yeah," Gilbert nodded and Alfred offered a hand for him to shake, which he took. "Happy Birthday, Prince Alfred."

"Thanks," Alfred chuckled. He held his regal position with ease. It probably all came to him naturally, something Gilbert was extremely envious of. He noticed that Alfred had soft, blue eyes and he had to wonder if Matthew had the same ones. It would be a bit of a letdown, if Gilbert had to be honest. "You know, I've always wanted to meet you. You always seemed pretty awesome."

"I've been told that," Gilbert smirked. This kid wasn't half bad…

"And your names would be?" Alfred turned to Francis and Antonio. They exchanged greetings as Gilbert saw Ludwig being lead by a few nobles somewhere further into the ballroom. Ludwig glanced back at Gilbert, who rolled his eyes and motioned for him to go. It looked like some girl really wanted to dance with him, too.

"Brothers, right?" Alfred joked and Gilbert smirked, nodding.

"He's a little too awkward for his own good," Gilbert sighed.

"I can see that," Alfred laughed as Ludwig tried to grasp how to properly dance. Gilbert knew that he knew, he was just nervous and forgetting. Soon, though, Alfred was distracted by a horde of women and he left them.

"You're a natural with talking to people," Francis said happily.

"I should be," Gilbert laughed. "I'm a prince, after all."

"Well, not all princes are-" Antonio was cut-off by a woman's scream. Everyone in the ballroom went quiet, but other screams soon started. Looking over at the commotion, Gilbert could see flames. Alfred rushed across the dance floor, most likely, to stop it, but he was hit by the flames and recoiled, yelling in pain as he looked at his hands.

He was actually…burned. No one in the Kingdom of Fire could ever be burned, let alone a prince…

People ran from the source of the fire, many with singed clothing. Gilbert took a step forward when he saw that Matthew was standing there, hands clamped over his head and his eyes shut tight. He wasn't controlling any of the fire coming out of him.

Without a second thought, Gilbert ran forward, creating a small wall of ice to prevent a few nobles from being hit by a small spurt of fire. Pain coursed through his hand, but it was easily ignored.

As Gilbert ran up to the boy, he continued to create fire that Gilbert blocked with ice that melted onto the ground just seconds after it was created. Gilbert's hands and feet felt like they were burning, but it wasn't due to the fire. Through the small gaps between the fire that Gilbert could see the kid, he looked terrified. It looked like he was trying to cry, but it was getting evaporated.

"Oi!" Gilbert snapped and Matthew opened his eyes wide to look at him. He winced as more fire came out of him and he started visibly shaking. "Calm the fuck down!"

"I-I can't!" Matthew looked like he was shouting, but the sound was like normal talking volume, hardly heard over the flames that threatened to engulf Gilbert at any second.

"Yes, you can!" Gilbert shouted, just barely blocking his arm from getting burned. "You wouldn't have this power if you couldn't control it!"

"You don't understand!" Matthew covered his face with his hands. "It's too much."

"You don't think I've got a shit-ton of magic, too?" Gilbert asked. "And I'm restricted to just ice! All of that power focused like that sucks."

"You don't know how much pain I've caused," Matthew muttered, just loud enough for Gilbert to hear.

"Pain?" Gilbert snapped, easily blocking a small ball of fire. "You don't think I've felt pain?! You think fire's the only thing that burns?! Check this out!" Gilbert swiftly took of his right glove and held it out for the kid to see. His eyes widened slightly and Gilbert chose to ignore just how far the frostbite had gotten. "And what the hell have you done? You've just burned your brother. That'll fucking heal! I've done things that won't heal! Try killing someone!"

"I-I didn't…" Matthew muttered before he let out a yell of pain, a massive ring of fire appearing out of nowhere around him. Gilbert's back was nearly singed if he hadn't covered his body in ice just before. It melted quickly. It was probably insanely hot around them but Gilbert couldn't feel it. He was still freezing cold. "I can't…control…"

"Yes, you can!" Gilbert shouted over the fire. He noticed that the ring encircled him and Matthew. There was no way out of he tried. Maybe he wouldn't die due to the frostbite, maybe it'd be this fire. "Just calm the fuck down!"

"I can't…" Matthew started hyperventilating and the fire seemed to come out with every breath. Gilbert barely caught up with his ice. He only hoped that his brother and Alfred were keeping the rest of the people in the ballroom safe.

"Just think of some kind of happy thought or something!" Gilbert groaned and ducked out of the way of a fireball. "Don't let the fire scare you. It's not hurting me, it's not hurting you. Just calm down and it'll all go away!"

"How do you know?" Matthew asked, his hands clamped tight over his head.

"I lost control, too," Gilbert stated. "Deep breaths. Just calm down."

"Are you sure?" Matthew muttered, his breathing was evening and the flames seemed to be dying down.

"Yeah," Gilbert nodded. "I'm sure. Just take it slow, you'll be okay."

"Yeah…" Matthew muttered. The flames completely died down as Matthew's legs gave way underneath him. The prince fell to the ground and, just as his head made contact, a burst of fire came out, directed on all sides. Gilbert just barely blocked it with ice, but it sent him flying back. He somehow gained enough sense to pile snow underneath him as he slid backwards. He didn't land very hard, thankfully, but he felt like a lot had been taken out of him.

He blearily looked at his hand and saw the blue frostbite taking up all of it, down to his wrist. Now that Gilbert focused on it, it stung. His hands and his feet seemed to be on fire, even though it was more cold than anything else. Ludwig blearily made his way into Gilbert's vision.

"Gilbert!" Ludwig's voice seemed to be far away and Gilbert felt himself beginning to slip. "Gilbert!"

Everything went black.


	3. Chapter 2

Gilbert slowly opened his eyes, vaguely aware of the pain in his hands and feet. He slowly took in his surroundings and found it kind of odd that it wasn't the blue that he was used to. Everything was red, orange, and yellow. As his senses slowly came back to him, so did his memories. He'd taken on the prince of the Kingdom of Fire. Apparently, the one with more power. It was amazing that Alfred was the older one and the one to take over, considering the power that Matthew held.

Gilbert let out a small groan and he turned onto his side. What had gotten into him when he told Matthew about…Gilbert looked at his right hand, which was covered in a white glove. He'd shown him something only his family had seen. Even his best friends hadn't seen the frostbite. And now Matthew knew that he had killed someone. That one day in Gilbert's life haunted him every day and reminded him to never use his magic if he could help it.

But he just had to play hero, didn't he? He just had to run to the rescue, when there were plenty of people that could have probably taken his place. He was such an idiot and now the frostbite was further along. Proof of his idiocy. Gilbert slowly took off his right glove and pushed up the light blue sleeve to see just how far the frostbite had gotten. It was just an inch past his wrist and Gilbert let out a sigh. His mother would kill him when she found out.

The door opened slowly behind Gilbert and he quickly put the glove back on and looked in that direction. A maid dressed in yellow smiled warmly at him.

"I see you're awake, Your Grace," she curtsied to him and Gilbert sighed, rolling his eyes as he sat upright. "The royalty of the Kingdom of Fire would like to request your presence in the throne room. If you would like me to guide you, I will wait outside the room for you to be ready."

"Uh, thanks, sure," Gilbert nodded. "Do you know where Prince Ludwig is staying?"

"The prince is in the room next door," the maid nodded to him.

"Could you get him, too?" Gilbert asked.

"Yes, Your Grace," she nodded and exited the room, closing the door behind her. Gilbert never liked it when the people working in the castle treated them so highly. Gilbert, at least, didn't deserve that treatment. There was a reason he held the red eyes of someone who'd been cursed.

After Gilbert stood up, he noticed that he was dressed in some form of night clothing, most likely provided by Ludwig, who always came places over-prepared. There was a neatly folded change of white and light blue clothes waiting on a massive dresser in front of him. Gilbert let out a sigh as he changed and tried to remember to keep up the grace that he had to hold, especially in other kingdoms.

He had to wonder, though…why would the royalty want a word with him? Had he done something wrong when he confronted the prince the night before? He had made sure not to even touch the kid with his ice once. Not like Matthew did the same for him…

Before long, Gilbert emerged out of the room, straightening himself out. Ludwig was already out of his own room and quickly looked over at Gilbert. He held up the royal façade, even around just the maids and Gilbert nodded to him, keeping his own façade up as well.

"I see you are feeling well," Ludwig nodded to him.

"I feel fine," Gilbert lied, his hands and feet still stinging. It was weird to not be able to feel his whole hands or his whole feet. He'd lasted with the frostbite for long enough to know how to function with frozen parts of his body and more wasn't too hard for him to handle.

"Please follow me," the maid curtsied to both of them and began to walk down the hall. The two brothers just nodded and followed her.

"Why did you do that?" Ludwig asked quietly, keeping his head facing forward.

"You didn't look like you were going to jump into action any time soon to save everyone," Gilbert muttered.

"You could have gotten yourself killed," Ludwig sighed.

"It'll take a lot more than that to kill me," Gilbert muttered.

They walked the rest of the way in silence before the maid stopped in front of two rather large, red-tinted doors. She curtsied once again and scurried off to do some other duties. There were two men standing at the door that nodded to the two and opened the doors, revealing the throne room. The Kingdom of Water had an identical room, with just blue, white, and black colors, rather than red, orange, and yellow. On the far side were four thrones. There sat the King of Fire, his queen, and on either side of them, the princes. Matthew sat on the left, the side of the queen, and looked down to avoid Gilbert's gaze.

"Princes Gilbert and Ludwig from the Kingdom of Water," the king stood and bowed to them. Gilbert and his brother did the same and stayed quiet as the king returned to his throne. "I summoned you here to talk of a dire matter. The prince, Matthew, has been unable to control his magic for some time. The only once successful thus far in calming him down has been Prince Gilbert."

This surprised Gilbert. Had outbursts like that happened often? How did they end in the past? Did everyone just duck for cover and wait until Matthew passed out? How long did they last? Gilbert had to wonder all of the damage that must have occurred due to all of that.

"We would like to kindly request that Prince Gilbert stay in the Kingdom of Fire to assist Prince Matthew in controlling his magic," the king finished and Gilbert felt his eyes widen. He never would have expected something like that. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ludwig frown. He was about to say no, to a king, no less.

Gilbert couldn't let it happen. He was of no real importance in the Kingdom of Water at that moment in time. At least this way, he could be useful. Plus, it would give him some time to be with Matthew. He was interesting and gorgeous, despite everything that had happened. Gilbert couldn't just go home. Besides…it wasn't like Gilbert was going to have to use up too much of his magic. He'd be just fine.

"I would be happy to," Gilbert responded, stopping Ludwig before he could even start. Ludwig made a small noise of disagreement, though he chose not to speak up. The king smiled happily.

"Very good," the king nodded. "Prince Ludwig, you may return home as soon as you would like. You two may leave now."

"Yes, sire," Ludwig stated and they both bowed before turning to leave the room. The door closed behind them and Ludwig let out a small groan as they began to walk, most likely back to their rooms. "What were you thinking, Gilbert?"

"I was thinking I could be of some use," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I'm never much help back home, here I can do something rather than sit in cold solitude."

"Are you insane?" Ludwig asked. "You might have to use your magic again. What will you do then?"

"If it's a matter of helping people, of course I'll use my magic," Gilbert sighed. "But I'm not stupid. It's not like I'll just use my magic any time I want. My burning hands are serving as a reminder."

"You cannot just stay here," Ludwig shook his head.

"What if I don't?" Gilbert asked. "If the King of Fire is asking for help from the cursed Ice Prince, then he's obviously desperate. Prince Matthew obviously has a problem that he can't fix and I might be the only way to help."

"That doesn't mean you can just endanger yourself," Ludwig stated sternly.

"I won't be endangering myself," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "In case you hadn't noticed, I have a long way to go before this reaches my heart. And it's not like I'll be using a lot of magic, like I said earlier. Just a few slip-ups won't hurt."

"Are you just doing this to boost your self-esteem?" Ludwig asked and Gilbert stopped in his tracks. Ludwig followed shortly after.

"Are you shitting me?" Gilbert growled. "Do you really think I'm still that petty? After everything…there's no way in hell I'm just worrying about myself. I haven't worried about myself for nine years and you know that! I know that I should help people, even if I might hurt myself in the process. Don't you dare think that I'm just doing this to feel like a hero!"

Gilbert didn't give his brother a chance to respond before he stormed off to continue on his way to his room. No matter how hard he tried, his family still apparently seemed to think that Gilbert was still the cocky bastard that he was before. He was cursed for it, for crying out loud! He was going to change after going through what he did. As much as he loved his family, there were times that they completely pissed him off. Maybe some time away would do him some good.

* * *

Some time later, Gilbert was pacing in his room. He couldn't help it. His brother was gone now and so now he was alone in the Kingdom of Fire. With only his ice powers that he couldn't use. No one there knew his secret and his hands trembled, for once not from the cold. Suddenly, though, a knock at the door dragged his attention back to the present.

"You may enter," Gilbert straightened himself out. Even if it was a maid, he would have to keep up his regal air. Surprisingly, though, the one to enter his room was Prince Matthew himself. He was slouching slightly, obviously ignoring the fact that he was supposed to look regal at all times. It did help Gilbert relax a little, though, as he slumped his own shoulders.

"Um, h-hello…Prince Gilbert," Matthew nodded to him.

"Prince Matthew," Gilbert nodded to him.

"I-I have to thank you…" Matthew muttered and closed the door behind him. "F-for all that you d-did…"

"It wasn't a problem," Gilbert responded with a small smile. "I had to help."

"Y-yeah," Matthew nodded. "And th-thanks…For…uh…for staying to h-help me."

"Don't worry," Gilbert smirked. "I wasn't doing anything anyway."

"I-If you don't mind…" Matthew bit his lip. "Y-your hand…When I saw it…A-are you alright?"

"Of course I'm fine, I'm the Ice Prince," Gilbert smirked. "It's just a part of my curse is all."

"Alright, then," Matthew quickly turned around to the door. Gilbert couldn't stop himself from smiling slightly. The kid was so adorable and shy. His time here wouldn't be that bad after all… Suddenly, Matthew sneezed and a small circle of fire came from him. Gilbert quickly shielded himself with ice and winced at the pain in his wrists and ankles as Matthew quickly turned around. "I-I'm so sorry! Y-you're not hurt…are you?"

"I'm fine," Gilbert smiled. "See? No burns. You're gonna have to learn how to get that under control, though."

"I-It's really hard…" Matthew muttered.

"That's what I'm here for, right?" Gilbert smirked and Matthew nodded slowly. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be just fine."

"Th-thank you," Matthew bit his lip before quickly leaving and closing the door behind him. Gilbert simply smiled at the door before he started laughing a little. So…maybe he would be using a little more magic than he thought. It wouldn't be too big of a deal, would it? Just a few spells to protect himself here and there. He wouldn't get anywhere close to death, he would be just fine.

Besides, he had that cute face to get him through this.


	4. Chapter 3

"So, I think we have to get over your shyness first," Gilbert stated, standing in front of Matthew as they stood on top of the stairs in the ballroom that had been filled with people just two nights previous.

"W-whatever you say," Matthew whispered.

"That would involve speaking up, Prince," Gilbert sighed.

"Uh, yes, P-Prince," Matthew stated, talking just a little louder and Gilbert slumped his shoulders slightly.

"You know, the more self-confidence you have, the easier it is to use magic," Gilbert stated and Matthew bit his lip.

"Y-yes, I know," Matthew muttered, casting his glance at the ground. Gilbert let out a sigh.

"Come on," Gilbert held out his hand for the boy, who gave him a confused look. "I'm going to try something, if you wouldn't mind. You don't have to worry about burning me so don't worry."

"Wh-why?" Matthew asked.

"Don't ask questions," Gilbert smirked. "Now, give me your hand."

Matthew looked at the hand and then back at Gilbert before back to the hand. Matthew held out an unsteady hand before placing it into Gilbert's outstretched one. Gilbert simply nodded and easily led him down the stairs. When Matthew opened his mouth to ask what he was doing, Gilbert just put a finger over his lips with a wink. And so they stayed quiet until Gilbert lead Matthew into the middle of the ballroom.

"Alright, now hold your head high," Gilbert ordered and Matthew slowly obeyed. After that, Gilbert placed his hand on Matthew's shoulder and the boy gave him an odd look. Gilbert simply nodded to Matthew, who slowly put his hand on Gilbert's waist. "Very good."

"What, e-exactly, is this d-doing?" Matthew asked quietly.

"I want to see how good you are at dancing," Gilbert shrugged. "Are you capable of taking the lead?"

"O-of course I am," Matthew scowled slightly before starting the dance. There was no music, though that didn't really seem to stop the boy. Gilbert smirked.

"So you do have a backbone," Gilbert laughed. "Impressive."

"Sh-shut up," Matthew blushed a bright red. The imaginary beat faltered slightly and Gilbert frowned.

"Don't lose your beat now," Gilbert sighed. "I thought we were actually getting somewhere."

"H-how is this helping?" Matthew asked.

"Don't question my methods," Gilbert stated.

"Uh, so, what are you two doing?" Prince Alfred asked from on top of the stairs and Matthew immediately dropped his hands and took a step back. Gilbert groaned.

"I am doing what your father asked of me," Gilbert looked up at the boy. "And I would quite like to get back to my job, thank you."

"What does dancing without music have to do with anything?" Alfred tilted his head to the side.

"You'll see once I'm done," Gilbert crossed his arms over his chest.

"I-I'm just going to…uh…g-go…" Matthew muttered and quickly made his way over to the stairs. In his hurry, he tripped on the stairs and actually fell backwards. Gilbert acted quickly and covered the stairs below him in ice to prevent him from hitting anything sharp and lead him to a soft pile of snow.

"Careful, kid," Gilbert sighed and Matthew quickly stumbled back to a standing position.

"I-I'm so sorry," Matthew muttered.

"You don't have to apologize," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "You tripped, I helped you."

"Hey, Mattie," Alfred called. "How about we go get something to eat?"

"Uh…yeah. S-sure," Matthew muttered, biting his lip as he quickly walked up the stairs.

Gilbert let out a sigh, rubbing at his wrists, before he climbed the stairs himself. He didn't bother getting rid of the ice. This was the Kingdom of Fire, they could melt it if they wanted to.

* * *

"So…wh-why are we w-walking through the g-garden?" Matthew stuttered as the two calmly walked through the garden. Gilbert had his hands in his pockets and allowed himself to slouch slightly. He couldn't help but relax around this kid.

"It's just another, awesome plan," Gilbert smirked. "Don't question my methods."

"O-okay," Matthew muttered.

"So, is your stutter just something that you can't control or are you just nervous?" Gilbert asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Um…" Matthew looked at the ground, something he did often, much to Gilbert's chagrin. "B-both?"

"Well, maybe part of that stutter will go away once we get your self-esteem up," Gilbert beamed. "Don't worry, it's an awesome plan and I'm sure it'll work!"

"Are you r-really sure…a-about it?" Matthew asked.

"Of course!" Gilbert nodded. "Have you ever noticed the freaking confidence the royals have? I mean, King Arthur is pretty much the most proud person in the world and his magic is…incredible from what I've heard. Then there's King Ivan and from the stories, he sounds pretty high and mighty, and creepy as hell, but no one's been able to beat him in a fight. Then you take in my awesomeness and check out the awesome magic that I can do and no one can beat me!"

"Except, apparently, Ivan," Matthew muttered and Gilbert stopped walking. Matthew paused before looking back at him and Gilbert cracked a smile. He started clapping and Matthew took a startled step back. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"That was your first sentence I heard you say, except for at the ball, without stuttering," Gilbert smirked, continuing his clapping. "Congrats, kid."

Matthew stuttered some more, unable to come out with a conceivable sentence as his face turned bright red. Gilbert smirked. This kid was incredibly adorable and he probably didn't even know it.

"Th-the way you talked about them…" Matthew muttered, looking into Gilbert's eyes slowly. Gilbert figured he was talking about the kings Gilbert had mentioned. "H-have you never…met them?"

"Nah," Gilbert shrugged. "Not a lot of people want to hang out with the cursed Ice Prince, so I stay in my own castle a lot."

"I-I do, t-too," Matthew sighed, looking down.

"Well, you'll be able to go to all kinds of places once your magic gets under control," Gilbert shrugged before he continued to walk. Matthew followed him and Gilbert smiled slightly. "You know, I've always wanted to see the Kingdom of Air, I hear it floats!"

"I-I've heard that, t-too," Matthew nodded, smiling cutely. It was hardly there, but it was adorable as hell.

"Well," Gilbert stated before stopping in what looked like the center of the garden. There was a circle around them with all kinds of beautiful flowers decorating the edges. There was beautiful stone work that almost seemed to be petrified flames. A breeze whipped past them and Gilbert let out a small sigh. It was probably warm, "how about this? Tell me what it feels like to be warm."

"What?" Matthew asked quietly from where he stood, about a foot away from Gilbert.

"I haven't felt it in years," Gilbert sighed. "And I figured it's something you'd know a lot about. That's all I really wanted to do today, in all honesty."

"Th-then will you tell me…wh-what it's like t-to be…c-cold?" Matthew asked.

"Sure thing," Gilbert nodded. He had no idea why anyone would want to be cold, though he figured Matthew was kind of like him. Maybe Matthew couldn't feel the cold, maybe he was just always hot. He didn't have a curse, that much he knew, but magic could sometimes feel like a curse. "So, heat first."

"Uh…well…" Matthew bit his lip. "I…I haven't been w-warm often, s-since I've just been hot f-for most of my life. But…uh…it's kind of…" Matthew took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Even has he continued to talk, he kept his eyes closed. "It's really…nice. When you're warm, it's like everything is at peace and everything is just perfect. Being warm is just, kind of like happiness."

"That sounds awesome," Gilbert smiled and Matthew opened his eyes, acting like he was almost surprised that Gilbert was still there. "Guess it's my turn, then, huh? I don't know why anyone would want to be cold, but here I go. The cold is kinda like being warm, since it's peaceful. It kind of tingles a little, if you were warmer just before you're exposed to it. It does feel kind of lonely, though, since you don't really feel anything else around you."

"That would be…kind of nice," Matthew mumbled, smiling slightly again.

"Well, I'm sure someday we'll both feel what other temperatures are like," Gilbert smirked, looking up at the clear sky as another breeze whipped past them. Gilbert had to wonder if either of them could feel it.

"So, how about we have a nice chat here?" Gilbert asked, stretching his arms over his head. Matthew managed to say quite a few sentences at once without stuttering and Gilbert was hoping to keep the streak up. All Matthew needed was a little self-confidence and controlling his fire would be no problem at all.

* * *

"Okay, so how about we try this?" Gilbert sighed.

"But, why?" Matthew asked. "Wasn't the other one working just fine?"

"I feel like this one is more awesome," Gilbert nodded happily.

"What does changing my clothes have to do with anything?" Matthew asked. Gilbert smirked. He'd stopped stuttering, but Gilbert wasn't about to point that out, since he knew that he would just stutter some more. However, his voice was still quiet, something Gilbert would definitely have to work on. Currently, they were in Matthew's room, Gilbert lounging on his bed, and going through clothing. For what? Gilbert had honestly no idea.

"I told you, it's helping with self-confidence," Gilbert said with a wave of his hand. "And don't question my methods. I know what I'm doing."

"I'm not so sure about that," Matthew sighed, swiping the clothes from Gilbert's hands before going back into his closet.

"But you're doing it anyway," Gilbert smirked and Matthew closed the door loudly. Gilbert simply laughed and waited patiently for the kid to come out. It had just been a few days, but Matthew was already making some sort of progress. And Gilbert also figured out that the kid was clumsy and really did have no control of his fire. Gilbert couldn't even count how many times he'd had to use his magic to help him out. And his arms and legs could attest to that. In just a few days, the frostbite was now half-way to his elbows and knees. This was turning out to be pretty dangerous.

Suddenly, a scream came from the other side of the closet and it burst into flames.

"Shit," Gilbert cursed, covering the door in ice quickly before entering the room. Matthew was holding onto his head, his chest uncovered, as flames quickly came out of him. "Calm down, Matthew!"

"I-I don't understand," Matthew shook his head as Gilbert slid back from the force of one of the fireballs hitting his ice.

"Don't let your fire control you," Gilbert stated.

"I'm trying," Matthew muttered. Gilbert took a deep breath before spreading out his arms. The room was overtaken by a small blizzard and Matthew stood still, all of the flames disappearing. "I-It's cold," he smiled.

Gilbert would have smiled, but the feeling of the frostbite creeping up his arms caused him such immense pain that he dropped to the ground, yelling out. The blizzard around them stopped, the water melting into the carpet around them.

"G-Gilbert!" Matthew scrambled over to him. "What's wrong? I-I didn't burn you…did I?"

"No," Gilbert shook his head, gripping onto one of his elbows. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Matthew shook his head. "You're in pain."

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Gilbert muttered, shaking his head.

"You're helping me with my magic, the least I could do is help you with yours," Matthew stated, looking right into Gilbert's eyes.

"So this is when you decide to get a backbone, huh?" Gilbert sighed, gritting his teeth as he sat upright. "If you wanna know, fine. But you have to understand that you aren't going to change anything I do, no matter how hard you try." Carefully, Gilbert moved up his long sleeve, keeping his glove on. Just as he expected, the frostbite was at his elbow. "My curse has more to it than just ice. Any time I use my magic, this frostbite will get further. Once it reaches my heart, I'm going to die."

"When you showed it to me a few days ago…" Matthew muttered, barely tracing his fingers over the parts of Gilbert's body that he could no longer feel. "It was just at your wrist…I'm so sorry, this is my fault."

"I was the idiot that decided to do this," Gilbert sighed, pushing the sleeve back down. "Nothing's changing my mind. Now that you know, I expect that you'll keep it quiet."

"But you're going to kill yourself," Matthew shook his head.

"We're all going to die eventually," Gilbert shrugged before standing up quickly. He knew how to recover from the frostbite moving, despite how painful it may be. "I was just stupid enough to speed up the process."

"How did you get a curse like this?" Matthew asked quietly.

"I completely deserve it," Gilbert smirked, balling his hand into a fist. "Don't worry about it. So, I'm guessing something happened to your clothes. And after I went through all the trouble to find something awesome enough for you, huh?"

"Wait, you're just going to…forget about it?" Matthew asked.

"Maybe I could talk to one of those maids," Gilbert shrugged as he walked out of the closet and then out of the room. He wasn't about to have a heart-felt chat about it. He'd gotten over it and he was determined to keep it that way. So Matthew knew that he was going to die, that wasn't going to change anything.

* * *

"Just try it," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "No one's going to die if you do."

"But, what about…" Matthew trailed off, looking away.

"Don't worry about me," Gilbert sighed. "Now try it."

They were standing on the main balcony of the castle that overlooked the main garden. Gilbert had gotten them secluded so that Matthew could try to use some of his magic, but the kid was shying away from it.

"You're sure?" Matthew asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Just try a simple fireball or something."

"A-alright," Matthew muttered before carefully putting out his hand.

"You won't get anywhere like that," Gilbert sighed. "You have to be confident with your magic, otherwise it will be out of your control. Understand?"

"Fine," Matthew took a deep breath, withdrawing his hand before jutting it out with more force. A fairly large fireball came from his hand, shooting out a few feet before disappearing. Matthew actually looked surprised as he looked at his hand.

"See?" Gilbert smirked. "Self-confidence."

"That's really it?" Matthew asked in wonder. He repeated the same motion and the fire did the same thing once again. "Wow…"

"Now try something bigger," Gilbert said. He could almost see Matthew's self-confidence rising and he wanted to see just how far he could go.

"I-I don't know," Matthew muttered. "Maybe we should just stick with this…"

"With a personality like that, your fire is going to keep controlling you," Gilbert stated. "There's a reason that the royals have more magic than the others, it's because we are the best at controlling it. You can control all of the magic inside of you. If you couldn't, it wouldn't be put inside of you."

"It's not just my magic, though," Matthew muttered, holding onto the railings. Gilbert gave him an odd look that Matthew couldn't see. "You told me your secret…so I guess I'll tell you mine. Alfred and I may be twins…but I am the older one. The only problem is, we were born days apart. No one even knew Alfred was supposed to come, they just thought our mother was sick. There was still magic for two people, though, and since Alfred took so long coming out, most of it came into me. When Alfred was finally born, most of his magic was already inside of me and he only kept a small amount. I've never been able to control the magic because so much of it isn't mine."

"It is your magic," Gilbert stated and Matthew looked up at him with a surprised expression. Gilbert was actually pretty surprised to find out that Matthew was older, but he could hold back his questions for a little later. He was still there to help Matthew and he was hell bound to accomplish his job. "It's in your body and so it's yours. That means you control it."

"But it's too much magic," Matthew pressed. "I obviously can't control it."

"If you had no control, it would be obvious," Gilbert stated. "There would be no time when you didn't have flames around you. You wouldn't be able to make a single breath without fire coming out. You obviously have control because, right now, there's nothing coming off of you."

"I don't control when it gets out of hand!" Matthew tried. "Sometimes I can control it, but sometimes I can't."

"Liar," Gilbert scoffed. "You can control it all the time."

"No, I can't!" Matthew snapped.

"Prove it to me, then," Gilbert said. "Get out of control and show me that you don't have control of your magic."

"Why would you want me to do that?" Matthew stared at him with wide eyes. "You could die protecting yourself."

"I'm a long way away from death," Gilbert stated.

"And you'll only get worse if you keep thinking like that!" Matthew yelled.

"And I already told you that I deserve it," Gilbert crossed his arms over his chest. "Anyway, if you can't get out of control, then I guess I was just proven right."

Matthew bit his lip, looking down at his hands. There was no fire, not even steam. Gilbert had gotten him all worked up and actually yelling at him, and yet he still kept control of his fire.

"At least I'm doing my job," Gilbert sighed, turning around to go back into the castle.

"You're such an idiot!" Matthew yelled and Gilbert glanced back to see a massive ball of fire heading his way. Gilbert hardly had enough time to protect himself with a barrier of ice and was shot back, into the glass doors behind him that shattered. Gilbert winced at the pain creeping up his arm

"Oh, my God," Matthew scurried to his side. "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to…Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Gilbert sighed, slowly sitting up. "That was on purpose, wasn't it?"

"I wasn't supposed to be that big, I'm sorry," Matthew muttered.

"It's because I got you worked up," Gilbert shook his head. "Magic tends to be more powerful when your emotional. It's fine."

"Wh-what about your arm?" Matthew asked.

"I'm fine," Gilbert stated before he began to walk away. "I'll fetch a maid to clean this up."

Matthew muttered something that Gilbert couldn't hear as he walked away. The kid was insanely powerful, especially when he had control of his magic. Gilbert had to wonder why Alfred was the one that was going to be king next. Maybe that was why he was here. If there was a chance that Matthew could gain control, then he would probably make for a great king. Once he got past his shyness.

* * *

Gilbert let out a sigh, staring at the tree above him and watching he light breeze rustle the leaves above him. Gilbert really wished he could feel the heat of the sun above him. Currently, he was taking a break and lounging around. Helping Matthew out was exhausting and Gilbert felt the frostbite almost at his shoulders.

"So you would be the Ice Prince?" an unfamiliar voice asked and Gilbert saw a man standing in front of him.

"Uh, yeah," Gilbert sighed and stood up. He was a prince, after all, so he had to show respect to anyone he saw. As he stood, though, he recognized the man in front of him. The blonde hair and green eyes was one thing, then there was the white clothing, but on top of it all…those giant ass eyebrows. "My apologies," Gilbert bowed to the man. "King Arthur."

"You don't have to be so formal," King Arthur sighed, nodding to him in response.

"Might I ask, what are you doing here?" Gilbert asked. He had to remind himself to keep up the royal façade once again now that another regal person was around.

"Prince Alfred summoned me," King Arthur rolled his eyes and Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, Prince Matthew is worried about you."

"And so they summoned you?" Gilbert asked bluntly.

"Yes, they did," Arthur nodded. "I may have air magic, though I also hold other talents as well."

"How do you have other magic?" Gilbert asked. It was almost unheard of for a person to possess magic aside from the element they originally had. The only other person Gilbert had met with that kind of talent had been the witch that gave him the curse.

"I don't quite understand it myself," Arthur sighed. "However, that isn't the point here. Matthew said something about a curse, though he didn't tell me the details. It will be up to you to tell me about it."

"What do you expect to do about it?" Gilbert asked. "The witch who gave it to me told me that there would be no way to break it."

"I may be able to slow it down, at the very least," Arthur stated. "From the state of Matthew's distress, it seems to be killing you."

"I knew I would die to this curse the day I got it," Gilbert sighed. "Slowing it down won't change anything."

"Humor me, alright?" Arthur said. "I'm afraid Matthew won't back down on his insistence any time soon."

"What are you going to do?" Gilbert asked skeptically.

"It depends on what the curse entails," Arthur explained. "Each curse calls for different magic to help lift it."

"Fine, if it'll get the prince off of my back," Gilbert sighed.

"Then please, lead me to your room," Arthur nodded to him and Gilbert began to walk towards the castle. "Now, what, exactly, does your curse entail?"

"Well, there's what everyone knows, which is that I can only use ice magic," Gilbert sighed. "Every time I use my magic, it causes a frostbite to go further into my body. Once it reaches my heart, I'll die. That's it."

"That kind of curse would be rather difficult," Arthur noted. "If it were just the magic, it would be easier. Or if it were simply that you would die, that would be easy as well. Combining the two, however, that makes it far more complicated. It also depends on the strength of the witch who cast it."

"Not that it isn't fun hearing you talk to yourself," Gilbert sighed, opening the door into the castle, "but could you pipe down? If you get too technical, you'll make my head hurt."

"Oh, of course," Arthur rolled his eyes. "We wouldn't want the revered Ice Prince to get a headache, now would we?"

"Sarcastic bastard," Gilbert grumbled.

"I heard that, you twat," Arthur snapped.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Gilbert crossed his arms over his chest. He continued to lead the man through the hallways as Arthur continued to think through what he was going to do. It was odd that neither Matthew or Alfred was with them, though Gilbert figured that they had other things to attend to. Ludwig was always busy at home with some kind of lesson or practicing his magic or talking to some noble.

"It seems as though you have been doing a rather impressive job keeping Matthew calm," Arthur stated randomly.

"What?" Gilbert asked.

"The reason you have stayed is because you were asked to help him with his magic, yes?" Arthur asked. "It's a rather difficult job, considering the amount of magic inside of him. Though you seem to be doing well, considering it all."

"It's easy," Gilbert shrugged. "The kid has a lot of self-confidence, but it's bottled up inside because he's scared. I'm just breaking his shell and everything else is coming easy to him."

"I see, then," Arthur nodded as Gilbert stopped in front of the door to his temporary room.

"So, why are we doing this in here?" Gilbert asked.

"I will need a place that you will be able to stay calm in," Arthur sighed. "Considering the fact that you are in an unfamiliar place, this would be the closest thing." He walked into the room and Gilbert closed the door behind him. "Now, I will need to see how far this curse has gotten, so I would like to kindly request that you take off your shirt."

"Uh, sure," Gilbert muttered, swiftly unbuttoning the opulent shirt that covered his chest. Before long, it was in his hand, revealing his chest. The frostbite had made its way just on top of his shoulders. Around the edges, it looked obviously unhealthy, while the skin that had already been taken was an unearthly blue.

Arthur's face turned grim as he looked at Gilbert up and down. "I assume that it's the same for your legs?" he asked.

"The frostbite is just at my hips," Gilbert explained. Just a little further and it could be seen with his shirt off.

"This is dangerous magic," Arthur muttered before he took a step back and moved his hand out, in front of him. Gilbert was swept off his feet by a sudden wind that could only have come from the King of Air himself and dropped the shirt in his surprise. He hovered over the ground in the horizontal, just a foot over the bed he had been sleeping in. He only really started panicking when the air took over his arms and legs, making it impossible to move them. "I need you to stay calm. I will not harm you, though using your magic in your panic will."

Gilbert tried to calm down, though the panic in him from being unable to move was slowly overriding his thoughts. It felt weird, like there was some other magic at work. He couldn't even move his fingers, which made him panic completely. He tried to breathe deeply, tell himself that he had to calm down, but that weird feeling of other magic felt incredibly potent at the tips of his fingers and toes. It swiftly raced through his arms and legs before going into his chest. When it reached his heart, Gilbert couldn't hold back.

A burst of ice came out of him in all directions and the wind around him disappeared. The pain that wracked Gilbert's body made him cry out as he fell onto the bed, breathing heavily. Arthur stayed quiet as Gilbert looked at his shoulder, only to watch the frostbite painfully creep towards his chest. It didn't look as though it was stopping, though. It was slow, but it was still moving forwards.

"I apologize," Arthur muttered, his voice oddly small for someone who had previously been so proud.

"What just happened?" Gilbert panted, propping himself on his elbows to look at the king. "What did you do?"

"I was identifying the curse," Arthur informed, looking at the ground. "It is a curse that can only be lifted by the one that gave it."

"Why isn't the frostbite stopping?" Gilbert asked, looking down at his shoulder. He could feel it moving. Despite its lack of speed, it still gave him pain as it moved.

"A part of the curse," Arthur sighed, and finally looked up. "Once it reached your chest, it would gain a mind of its own. It won't stop moving now, until it reaches your heart."

"So…now…there's no way to stop it?" Gilbert sat upright. He noticed that, with each breath he took, there was a visible puff in front of him. For the first time in years, Gilbert had never felt so cold. He felt himself beginning to tremble.

"I'm afraid not," Arthur stated. "Any use of magic on your part will speed it up further, rather than simply advance it. I suggest you halt all uses of magic. You should go home for now. It seems as though staying here will just endanger your life further."

"No," Gilbert shook his head. "I'm here to do a job and I will fulfill it." He stood up and picked up his shirt, ignoring the searing pain in his shoulders and hips. "Tell Matthew that you couldn't stop the curse, but don't tell him about this new development."

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked. "You are dying now, there is no way to simply stop using magic and let it stop. You should be with your family."

"I promised myself that I wouldn't be selfish again," Gilbert stated as he placed the shirt back onto his body. "I'm not going to go home because I'm about to die. I'll finish up here first. I still have plenty of time before it reaches my chest."

"Fine, then," Arthur nodded, opening the door. "Just don't kill yourself."

"I already have."


	5. Chapter 4

"Are you alright?" Matthew asked. "You looked tired."

"I'm fine," Gilbert nodded, trying to keep his breaths to a minimal. He could still see his breath with every puff of air, but he was still trying to keep it unseen to Matthew. That and his shivering. It only got worse with every time he used his magic.

"You're not as talkative as usual," Matthew noted. "Are you really sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Gilbert stated. "Now, try it again."

Matthew bit his lip and looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead he turned back to the open balcony in front of them. He carefully moved his hand, reciting an incantation before a vortex of fire came from it and shot forward or several feet. Matthew took a steady breath, turning his hand slightly, and the fire exploded into fireworks. Matthew smiled brightly and Gilbert had to admit that just the sight made everything worth it.

"Good job," Gilbert nodded, smirking. "Think you could do it again?"

"Probably," Matthew smiled, looking down at his hands. "This is amazing, I never thought that I could do this."

"I told you that you could control it," Gilbert stated.

"I shouldn't have doubted your 'awesome' methods," Matthew laughed, looking back at Gilbert. "But, you know, you really don't look good at all. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Gilbert muttered, looking over at the garden, rather than at Matthew. He could ignore the fact that most of his body was covered in frostbite as long as he didn't think about it. He could ignore the fact that his hair was now basically frozen and he had to put on makeup for women in order to hide the blue of his face. Just as long as he didn't think about it.

"Gil, you don't have to hide it," Matthew sighed, and before Gilbert could stop him, he held onto his wrist. Matthew's eyes widened and looked down. "Your freezing! Even through your gloves and your shirt and your jacket!"

"Yes, I'm cold, it's a part of the curse, we've been over that," Gilbert sighed and pulled his hand away.

Matthew gave him a glare before looking closer at his face, which resulted in Gilbert leaning back slightly. All of a sudden, Gilbert started feeling weak. It must have been the frostbite getting closer to his heart.

"Your face looks odd," Matthew mumbled before reaching forward and just barely tracing his fingers over Gilbert's face. "It's freezing, too."

"I'm fine, rela…" Gilbert's vision blacked out for a second. When he could see again, he found himself lying on the ground, Matthew shaking his shoulders.

"Gilbert!" Matthew yelled and Gilbert blinked a few times.

"Get off," Gilbert muttered, slowly sitting upright. His whole body hurt from the frostbite, but he wasn't about to show that to Matthew.

"You just passed out!" Matthew snapped. "What is going on? Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," Gilbert lied.

"No, you're not!" Matthew yelled, wiping his finger across Gilbert's face and looking down. "Don't lie to me."

"I can handle myself, I'm not a child," Gilbert stated.

"Take off your shirt," Matthew demanded and Gilbert looked at him in confusion.

"What?" Gilbert asked.

"I said take off your shirt," Matthew commanded, using a voice practically fit for a king. Gilbert blinked before he simply nodded and obeyed. He unbuttoned the shirt as quickly as his numb fingers would allow and stripped the cloth off his body. Matthew's eyes widened at the sight. Gilbert gritted his teeth and looked down himself.

There was a small ring on the left side of his chest, around his heart. It was jagged, as if the frostbite was racing from all directions to get to his heart. It was the last part of his body that was not covered. Gilbert didn't even bother masking his breath anymore.

"Oh, my God," Matthew muttered and Gilbert could have sworn he saw tears in the boys eyes. As he felt the frostbite crawl further, Gilbert blacked out again.

* * *

Gilbert tried to open his eyes, but he found that he barely had the strength to do anything. He thought he had heard something, a familiar voice, and then a few, familiar blue eyes, but then he blacked out once again.

The next time his eyes opened, he was vaguely aware of the fact that he was moving, most likely in some sort of carriage. Those familiar blue eyes again…Then, nothing.

Finally, when Gilbert opened his eyes next, they stayed open. He blinked open his eyes and saw the familiar sight of blue, black, and white décor. Gilbert let out a small sigh and found himself shivering. The more he took in his surroundings, he discovered that he was in his own room, though he was completely covered with many thick blankets. There was a fire going in the fireplace, but none of the heat was reaching him.

Gilbert could clearly see his breath puff above him from his lying position. He wished he could bring himself to sit upright, but he was too weak to try to move anything other than his neck, which he could barely move. He felt so stiff, he was like ice.

Before long, his door opened and Ludwig stepped in. The two locked eyes for a short while before Ludwig closed the door behind him, leaving the two brothers alone in the room.

"What were you thinking?" Ludwig asked. "Are you stupid?"

"Yes," Gilbert muttered, his voice gravelly from lack of use. How long had he been passed out for?

"Why didn't you tell me that the frostbite moved on its own?" Ludwig asked. It looked like he was angry, beyond pissed off. But, apparently, his worry for his brother bested his anger.

"That's new," Gilbert stated, testing to see how loud his voice could get.

"How could you let it get this far?" Ludwig growled.

"He needed my help," Gilbert sighed.

"And so you killed yourself for him?" Ludwig snapped.

"Don't get angry," Gilbert looked away. "I'd prefer I don't fight you while I'm on my deathbed."

"This shouldn't be your deathbed!" Ludwig yelled. "Why did you risk your life like this? You can't say that it was because you were not being selfish. I know you were not."

"I was being completely selfish," Gilbert laughed slightly. "I just didn't realize it. Isn't it funny how we get philosophical when we're about to die?"

"Don't change the subject," Ludwig stated. "Why did you stay and risk your life?"

"For Matthew," Gilbert said simply. "I'm pretty sure I fell in love with him." Gilbert had to admit, he'd been taken with the boy the second he saw him. And watching him grow a backbone…That one smile… It just took him looking death in the eye for him to realize what it really was.

"You're such an idiot," Ludwig slumped against the wall closest to the door.

"I get that a lot," Gilbert smirked. "So, what now? Do we have a crying party until I pass away?"

"Is there really nothing else that can be done?" Ludwig asked. "I heard that King Arthur saw you."

"The only one that can stop it is the woman who cursed me," Gilbert stated. "She didn't seem too keen on it when I last saw her."

"I can't stand by and watch you die," Ludwig growled.

"You've been doing it for years," Gilbert stated and Ludwig sighed, hitting the wall none-too-lightly with both his fists.

"You should have come back sooner."

"I wasn't done. I'm still not."

"Did you really love him?"

Gilbert thought for a second. It was pretty amusing that a person thought the most on their deathbed. Looking back on it, Gilbert knew that he had fallen in love with Matthew. Though, he wasn't entirely sure if Matthew felt the same.

"Yes."

"Then you should know," Ludwig stated, standing upright. "You've been asleep for a week, barely able to wake up long enough to eat and drink. In that time, Prince Matthew of the Kingdom of Fire has fallen ill. It seems as though he is on his deathbed as well."

"What?" Gilbert asked. "What kind of sickness did he get?"

"They seem to think that it's magical," Ludwig sighed. "He has a fever that far surpasses a heat that any person in the Kingdom of Fire can handle. If it does not go down soon, he will die."

"No," Gilbert shook his head. "Why would he…fall ill?"

"It's a mystery to even King Arthur," Ludwig stated.

"Leave me alone for a bit, will you?" Gilbert asked. "I promise I'll call for you when I feel like I'm about to die."

"This is not a time for your jokes," Ludwig sighed, though he did open the door and leave without another word. Gilbert set his jaw. Matthew was sick? Only one of them should be on their deathbed at that time.

Gritting his teeth, Gilbert quickly wormed his way out of the pile of blankets. He could barely stand, but that didn't matter much. He swiftly got himself dressed, his shaking form barely able to cope with standing. Nevertheless, Gilbert peeked out of the door, just to check and make sure his brother was nowhere in sight. Without wasting any time, Gilbert fetched a few servants and got them to prepare a carriage without talking to the queen.

In a matter of minutes, he was on his way to the Kingdom of Fire.

* * *

Gilbert had fallen asleep at some point on the ride there, though he was woken up by the coachman, who looked at him worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Gilbert muttered before stepping out as gracefully as he could. Quite a few of the servants around the castle looked incredibly confused and Gilbert just nodded to them before stumbling his way up the stairs. He knew his brother would kill him for this…but for some reason, that thought made him laugh.

Gilbert walked through the hall, barely remembering where Matthew's room was. As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by a full room. Alfred was there, naturally, as well as both the king and the queen of the Kingdom of Fire. King Arthur stood with a sad look on his face and there were quite a few maids hurrying about, a few of them running into Gilbert as he stood at the door.

The only one Gilbert really cared about, though, was the boy lying in the bed with a bleary look in his eyes.

"Gil?" Matthew's voice was small, something similar to the first day the two of them had worked together.

"My God," Arthur muttered at the sight of him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Alfred asked. "You're dying."

"Aren't we all?" Gilbert muttered.

"Prince Gilbert," the king nodded to him. "Why are you here when your presence was not requested?"

"Sire," Gilbert nodded politely before falling backwards, against the wall. "I wish to help Prince Matthew once again."

"What are you doing?" Matthew asked and Gilbert could even see Arthur shaking his head.

"I can bring the fever down," Gilbert stated.

"Do you want to kill yourself?" Arthur snapped.

"Kill himself?" Alfred asked.

"You haven't been able to cool him down, right?" Gilbert asked. "I'm willing to try. If it's a magical ailment just meant to give him a fever, I can help."

"You could save our son?" the queen asked and Gilbert simply nodded.

"He will save him at the cost of his own life," Arthur inputted. "His curse is nearing its end and if he uses magic once, he will die."

"Don't," Matthew shook his head.

"It is a sacrifice I am willing to make," Gilbert nodded.

"Is it something your kingdom is willing to risk?" the king asked and Gilbert nodded.

"Yes, sire," Gilbert lied.

"Please," Matthew muttered, the sweat on his forehead painfully obvious now. "Don't do it."

"Then I grant you permission to try," the king nodded and Gilbert nodded in response.

The room was quiet as Gilbert carefully moved forward, hovering his hand over the top of Matthew's body. After taking a deep breath, Gilbert continued. Ice came out of his hand and a frost covered the thin blanket covering Matthew. The sweat on his forehead disappeared and Matthew's eyes opened wider, staring at Gilbert.

"Did it work?" Alfred asked and Arthur stepped forward. Gilbert looked down and saw the tips of his fingers turning to ice. It started advancing down to his hand.

"From what I can tell," Arthur muttered, placing his hand on Matthew's forehead, "the fever is gone. He is fine."

"Why would you…" Matthew quickly sat up. Gilbert couldn't bring himself to move as he watched the ice quickly move up his arm, over his clothing. He could see it on his feet and felt it on the top of his head. "Why would you do that?"

"Sorry," Gilbert muttered. The ice was already at his shoulders, racing towards his heart. "Ludwig's gonna be pissed off. Try to make sure he doesn't break anything, okay?" The ice covered his heart and Gilbert felt a massive wave of pain overcome him. He wanted to say more, but he found himself unable to speak. His lungs were frozen, his stomach was frozen, his heart was frozen. All that was left was his face. Then maybe he would topple over just like his father.

"Gilbert," Matthew shook his head. Gilbert couldn't hear him, his ears were frozen, but he could read his lips. Gilbert closed his eyes just as the ice covered them. Just his nose and mouth were left. Then he would stop breathing.

Just as his nose was covered, Gilbert felt something…warm on his lips. He couldn't open his eyes to see, nor could he move to continue the warmth, something he hadn't felt in years. Suddenly, something fell off of Gilbert's right side, the top of his head to his arm and he opened his right eye. Matthew looked back at him with a confused expression. The ice around Gilbert's waist cracked before falling and shattering to the ground. His left side followed shortly after.

"What?" Gilbert asked, looking at his hands. Had all of this been a joke?! Was he really not going to die after all.

"That was so adorable!" a voice squealed behind them and Gilbert swiftly looked over. He took a step back when he saw that it was the witch. Glancing at the others in the room, he noticed that they weren't moving; frozen in time.

"What the hell is this?" Gilbert asked.

"Do you have any idea how much that made me cry?" the witch sighed happily, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. This was far different from what Gilbert saw of her all those years ago. "Oh, you two are so perfect and cute together!"

"What are you doing?" Gilbert asked.

"Hm? Oh, I froze them," the witch shrugged. "In time, not with ice because that would be…badly ironic."

"Why didn't I die?" Gilbert asked.

"Because you proved me wrong," the witch smiled. "Every second after I cursed you, you proved me wrong. Not a lot of people can do that, you know. A lot of assholes that get cursed tend to become even more of an asshole and they die really quickly, trust me. But you were different. Immediately, you turned around. You were told you couldn't become king and you smiled. You congratulated your brother and helped him without even a hint of jealousy. Even though you knew it would kill you, you selflessly helped this boy. The only reason I didn't lift the curse sooner is because I wanted to know what would happen. And it was totally cute and worth it because you fell in love!"

"You really are crazy, witch," Gilbert shook his head. "You just…"

"I gave him the fever," the witch continued. "He wouldn't die because you would come for him. And it was totally worth it! You two were so adorable!"

"Wait, I…what?" Gilbert couldn't bring himself to grip the situation. He'd just resigned himself to death and this witch just comes back at the last second to talk about how cute of a couple he and Matthew made?!

"Oh, and I should say that there are a few…side-effects that I can't exactly get rid of," the witch shrugged. "Like the white hair, red eyes, what happened to your magic. You'll still only be able to use ice, but I'm sure that's fine with Matthew. But now, there's no frostbite and you won't die if you use the magic. And you won't be cold anymore. Well, I mean, if it's cold outside, you're gonna be cold unless you put on a jacket, but that's obvious."

"Why the hell would you wait so long?" Gilbert snapped.

"For the kiss, obviously," the witch rolled her eyes. "I mean, if you two had gotten further quicker it would have been broken faster. And, naturally, if you two were slow enough to not fix it before you died, then I would still release you. I mean, I'm not heartless."

"Do you have any idea how much pain I've been through with this fucking curse?" Gilbert glared at her. "How much I've suffered."

"You seemed perfectly fine with it while it happened," the witch shrugged. "I recall you saying that you deserved it."

"I did," Gilbert nodded.

"Then you should be happy," the witch smiled. "Now all that's left is for you to face your brother, who I'm sure will want to have quite the talk with you."

"And that's it?" Gilbert asked. "You're just done?"

"Be thankful you get your life," the witch stated. "Don't worry, I won't bother you again."

"At least tell me your name before you leave," Gilbert stated. "Maybe King of the Wind over here might know who you are."

"Fine by me," the witch shrugged. "It's Elizaveta. You could at least invite me to the wedding."

With a wink, she vanished.

"How are you alive?" Matthew asked, turning Gilbert's attention back to him.

"The witch decided to let me live," Gilbert smiled.

"The witch was here?" Arthur asked as Alfred stood by, dumbfounded with his parents. "How did we not see her?"

"She froze you in time," Gilbert muttered. "She said her name was Elizaveta, does that ring any bells?"

"You managed to anger her and lived?" Arthur gaped at him.

"Why is that bad?" Matthew asked.

"Who cares, I'm still alive," Gilbert couldn't hold back his laughter. "And it's warm."

"You said Ludwig would be mad," Matthew muttered. "Does that mean you didn't ask for permission to come?"

"Of course I didn't," Gilbert smirked. "Do you really think he'd let me come when I was dying?"

"You're such an idiot," Matthew shook his head.

"You know, I get that a lot," Gilbert laughed before he dared to do something even more stupid. He kissed Matthew again. And he was pleasantly surprised when he kissed back.


	6. Epilogue

Gilbert stood still in front of the castle of the Kingdom of Fire, back straight and hands behind his back. A carriage from the Kingdom of Water had just pulled in front of the castle and Gilbert was ready to be yelled at. He'd just gone and killed himself and he was sure his brother would kick his ass for that. The royalty of the Kingdom of Fire was inside of the castle, evidently not wanting to get involved with something like this.

The first person out of the carriage was Ludwig, who stared at Gilbert for a while, standing still. Then, before Gilbert knew it, he was pulled into a hug. He definitely wasn't expecting that.

"What were you thinking?" Ludwig muttered.

"I wasn't," Gilbert sighed. Ludwig pulled back at looked him over, most likely searching for any trace left of the frostbite.

"How are you alive?" Ludwig asked as their mother rushed over to the two and gave Gilbert a hug as well.

"Well, I proved that witch bitch wrong," Gilbert shrugged as his mother looked him over. "She lifted the curse right when I was about to die."

"Did you at least help the prince with your stupid, heroic antics?" Ludwig asked.

"Course I did," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I'm awesome, all of my plans work."

"You are such an idiot," Ludwig punched him in the shoulder.

"That's what I was waiting for," Gilbert laughed, holding onto his bruising limb. "I figured I'd be getting more, though."

"You just nearly died," Ludwig shook his head. "That was enough."

"Why do you still look cursed?" their mother asked, running a hand through Gilbert's hair.

"Side-effects," Gilbert shrugged. "Apparently. I'm still only able to use ice magic, though. So it looks like Luddy still has to take over as king. You'd be better at it than me, anyway."

"Yes, considering the fact that I don't throw my life away like you," Ludwig sighed.

"That takes away half the fun," Gilbert smirked.

* * *

Gilbert was lying on the grass, staring at the clear sky. It was so warm, he didn't want to move. He cool breeze whipped by and he smiled. Matthew was right, it really was peaceful.

"You look lonely," a familiar voice said above him and Gilbert closed his eyes.

"I might be," Gilbert smirked.

"Then would you mind if I joined you?" the voice asked.

"I guess, if you have to," Gilbert shrugged.

"Very funny," the voice said sarcastically before a person nuzzled into Gilbert's chest. "You know, you're pretty cold."

"Well, you're warm," Gilbert shrugged.

"So, Ice Prince," the voice giggled. "When do you think you'll be heading back to your own kingdom?"

"Eventually?" Gilbert guessed and cracked an eye open to look at the boy curled against him. He was adorable, to say the least, and he was his. Matthew.

"It's a good thing you actually aren't going to be king," Matthew rolled his eyes. "You're way too relaxed."

"Have you decided if you want to be the one that takes over after your father?" Gilbert asked. "Since you're so much more awesome than your brother?"

"I don't really think I'm cut out for it," Matthew sighed. "It all comes a lot easier to Alfred and he fits the image a lot better than me."

"You both have the same image, you know," Gilbert laughed.

"Yeah, yeah," Matthew muttered. "Besides, isn't a king supposed to marry a woman and then have heirs together? That doesn't exactly fit my bill."

"Well, you're already changing tradition by being the eldest and not taking the crown," Gilbert stated. "Both of us are."

"At least it's not unheard of for there to be gay princes," Matthew giggled.

"But it's so much more awesome to break the mold!" Gilbert laughed. "Like the whole Kingdom of Fire and Kingdom of Water becoming allies."

"Yeah, that's all your fault," Matthew said.

"Would you prefer that I didn't help you?" Gilbert asked. "Twice?"

"Whatever," Matthew sighed. "At least now, you aren't killing yourself."

"It's a hell of a lot more boring," Gilbert sighed. "I kind of miss all of that eminent danger."

"I certainly don't," Matthew smiled. "I like it a lot like this. Calm and peaceful…"

"And warm," Gilbert smiled.

"With just a touch of cold," Matthew closed his eyes.

Gilbert looked up at the sky again. He'd gotten so used to the feeling of the frostbite, it was weird that he could feel his fingers. He was still sometimes cautious when he used his ice magic, but he always smiled when it didn't cause him pain. And now that Gilbert could feel warmth again, it was like his life had just gotten infinitely better. He could feel the warmth of the prince cuddling with him, he could feel the warmth of the sun beating down on them, he could feel the warmth of his heart as the people that he loved stayed near him.

* * *

And so, for the first time in history, it seemed, the first in line for the throne did not take it. Just one prince doing that was odd, but two was completely unheard of. It was the first, royal gay marriage. It was the first time the Kingdoms of Water and Fire became allies. It was the first time that a person cursed by the witch Elizaveta lived.

For the first time, the Kingdom of Water became well-known and it was mostly due to Prince Gilbert, the cursed Ice Prince. It was famous for the beautiful ice gardens of its castle, for being the home of an endangered species of yellow bird that Gilbert found on accident, for being the place that the powerful Prince Matthew stayed half the time.

It's amazing what just a little change could do.

* * *

**God, cheesy ending is cheesy. It's like I'm incapable of making a not cheesy ending to a story, no matter how hard I try. Oh, well, it's beautiful and finished and only took a couple of days (a couple of evil, very hard days). I got this idea from Frozen, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't get a little inspiration from Avatar the Last Airbender.**

**I might play around with this AU again later, but for now, this is it. Please review and tell me what you thought! It means a lot. And happy New Year!**

**I do not own Hetalia.**


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